That concludes our live updates of the Ukraine invasion on Sunday. Read below for a recap.
What you need to know:
- Russian forces have seized two nuclear power plants and are advancing towards a third
- Ukraine’s President Zelensky says Russia has lost more than 10,000 troops
- The UN Secretary General says the UN is committed to ramping up a humanitarian response
- A Ukrainian official says the next round of Russia-Ukraine talks will be held on Monday
Many civilians were forced to turn back from Mariupol and Volnovakha after continued attacks. (Source: 1News)
5.53pm: US government reports the Russian govt is blocking media outlets and social media from Russian citizens, "all to obscure the truth about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine."
5.35pm: To show financial support, people are booking Airbnb's in Ukraine with no intention of staying there.
Airbnb have also waived processing fees for those booking in Ukraine and they are offering to house to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine.
5.15pm: A Ukrainian paramedic known for her bravery, was fatally shot while on her way to evacuate injured people from the outskirts of Kyiv amid Russia's invasion.
5.05pm: More photos from across the globe emerge as the world stands in solidarity for Ukraine.
4.57pm: The Telegraph reports "Berlin would host refugees from Ukraine, no matter where they came from."
"More than a million people from Ukraine have crossed into neighbouring countries, the United Nations said Thursday. That number is expected to reach 1.5 million on Sunday."
4.09pm: From the Associated Press
Crowds of men have been lining up in Kyiv to join the Ukrainian army.
An order from Ukraine’s government prohibited men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country to keep them available for military conscription.
But some like Volodymyr Onysko volunteered to fight.
“We know why we are here. We know why we defend our country. And our guys that are actually standing there and fighting Russian military forces,” he told Britain’s Sky News. “We know what we are doing and that’s why we will win.”
Others, like British Army veteran Mark Ayres, travelled to Ukraine to help.
Ayres said the Ukrainian people have been inspiring and “it’s galvanised everybody.”
“I’ve got no illusions. I’ve got no romantic ideas of war or like ‘I’m going to be some hero’ or make a difference … but it is what I do,” Ayres said.
3.32pm: BBC reports Russia's invasion of Ukraine fuels Finnish support for Nato.
"The Ukraine invasion has changed everything."
3.25pm: Economic Policy reporter at The New York Times Alan Rappeport reports the International Monetary Fund predicts war in Ukraine would have a ‘severe impact’ on the global economy.
3.12pm: From the Associated Press
US President Joe Biden has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and to speed US military, humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine.
The White House said the pair also discussed talks between Russia and Ukraine during the more than 30-minute call early Sunday in Ukraine, but offered no additional details.
Zelenskyy said on Twitter the two presidents discussed security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.
1.40pm: From the Associated Press
Russia has dropped powerful bombs on residential areas of the city of Chernihiv, a regional official said on Sunday.
Vyacheslav Chaus posted a photo of what he said was an undetonated FAB-500, a Soviet-designed 500kg air-dropped bomb.
“Usually this weapon is used against military-industrial facilities and fortified structures,” said Chaus, head of the same-named region of Chernihiv. “But in Chernihiv, against residential areas.”
The city of Chernihiv, located north of Kyiv and with a population of 290,000, has come under heavy fire from Russian forces.
Officials said 17 people in the region were killed in the shelling.
A video released Saturday by the Ukrainian government showed people cheering as they watched a Russian military plane fall from the sky and crash.
12.28pm: US basketball player Brittney Griner has been arrested in Russia on drug charges.
Griner reportedly had vape cartridges in her luggage at Moscow airport that contained oil derived from cannabis.
US officials have advised citizens in Russia to depart immediately amid its invasion of Ukraine.
The Associated Press reported that Griner's agent said work is underway to bring the player home safely to the US.
11.36am: Visa also announces suspension of Russian operations.
11.26: Mastercard suspends Russian operations.
"Cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by the Mastercard network. And, any Mastercard issued outside of the country will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs," Mastercard said in a statement on Sunday.
"For more than a week, the world has watched the shocking and devastating events resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine."
11.22am: Images have emerged out of Ukraine showing a sea of people under a destroyed bridge, trying to cross the Irpin River in Kyiv.
Russian airstrikes reportedly prevented residents from leaving before the agreed-to evacuations got underway, Ukrainian officials said.
Putin also accused Ukraine of sabotaging the effort, claiming the actions of Ukraine's leadership questioned the future of the country's statehood.
10.30am: From the Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy and likened the West's sanctions on Russia to “declaring war,” while a promised cease-fire in the port city of Mariupol collapsed amid scenes of terror in the besieged town.
With the Kremlin’s rhetoric growing fiercer and a reprieve from fighting dissolving, Russian troops continued to shell encircled cities and the number of Ukrainians forced from their country grew to 1.4 million.
Bereft mothers mourned slain children, wounded soldiers were fitted with tourniquets and doctors worked by the light of their cell phones as bleakness and desperation pervaded. Putin continued to pin the blame for all of it squarely on the Ukrainian leadership and slammed their resistance to the invasion.
“If they continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood,” he said. “And if this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience.”
He also hit out at Western sanctions that have crippled Russia's economy and sent the value of its currency tumbling.
Earlier on Sunday:
From the Associated Press
Russian forces have now seized two Ukrainian nuclear power plants and are advancing toward a third, Ukraine’s president said during a call with US senators,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the third plant currently under threat is the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant, located 120km north of Mykolaiv, one of several cities the Russians were trying to keep encircled.
One of the plants under the Russians' control is the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in the south-eastern city of Enerhodar, the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. The other is Chernobyl, which is not active but is still staffed and maintained.
Previous Russian shelling sparked a fire at the Zaporizhzhia plant that was extinguished without a release of radiation.
Technical safety systems are intact and radiation levels are still normal at the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to the country’s nuclear regulator, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday.
Ukraine has four nuclear plants with a total of 15 reactors.
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